Advice on gaining underwriting/deal flow experience in CRE in LA?

Any advice on gaining underwriting/deal flow experience in commercial real estate in Los Angeles? I'm 5-years out of college with 2-years of residential/commercial property management experience, a REFM certificate (lvl 3 w / distinction), a Real Estate Investment Certificate from UCLA (4.0 GPA), Argus Enterprise Certified, and have my CA Real Estate license. I'm heavy on the education/certificates and lack the experience. Companies I spoke to want more underwriting and deal flow experience. I'm looking for a company that is willing to hire someone who is green. I'm open to all areas of CRE (investments, asset management, development, brokerage, banking). Any advice?

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“Nick was extremely informative and gave me a lot of solid and practical advice. He answered all of my questions clearly and thoughtfully. I really appreciated that he gave me an actionable plan for how to approach recruiting and developing my career in general. He was very open about sharing his own experiences. He also gave me helpful perspective on how to differentiate myself during the recruiting process and make my conversations with professionals more meaningful. I feel like I have a clearer understanding of what I should focus on and concrete next steps. This was overall a helpful and valuable conversation. ”

Class of '28 Aug 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

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“Nick was fantastic. He didn’t just glance at my resume and give me generic advice—he explained exactly why it wasn’t telling the story I wanted it to tell, then helped me figure out how to fix it. He pushed me to be more intentional about how I talk about my experience and gave me concrete steps to prepare for interviews, from tailoring my resume to practicing financial modeling. I also appreciated how candid he was. When I asked about real estate capital markets versus sales and trading, he gave me his honest opinion while being clear about his own perspective. He shared interview guides, answered all my questions, and offered to do a more detailed mock interview if I move forward with JLL. I left with a lot of work to do, but also a much clearer idea of how to do it. I’d absolutely recommend talking with Nick.”

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2 Comments

Anonymous Monkey

O

7y

Hit up George Smith Partners- great firm there. PM me and I can provide you an email. CBRE out there will also hire. Brokerage would probably be your easiest bet. Would be tougher to break straight into REPE/ Development.

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jmkib

PE

7y

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Advice on gaining underwriting/deal flow experience in CRE in LA?

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Advice on gaining underwriting/deal flow experience in CRE in LA?

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